THE PENILE IMPLANT SPECIALIST LEADING THE US’S HANTAVIRUS RESPONSE
When 18 American passengers who were onboard the MV Hondius were potentially exposed to Hantavirus, the Trump administration dispatched Dr Brian Christine to temper growing fears about another possible pandemic.
For a doctor who specialised in penile implants and surgical treatments for erectile dysfunction, the deadly outbreak is perhaps his most difficult public health challenge to date.
The 62-year-old, Alabama-based surgeon became assistant secretary of health, one of the most senior positions within Robert F Kennedy Jr’s health department in 2025.
Despite his apparent lack of public health experience, Dr Christine is responsible for overseeing the office of infectious disease and the work of the surgeon general, often referred to as “the nation’s doctor”.
“The risk of Hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low,” he told reporters on Monday from the Nebraska hospital where some of the passengers, who have now returned to the US, are being quarantined.
The response, he insisted, would be “grounded in science”.
Before joining the administration, he was a urologist who rose to prominence with his surgical solutions to erectile dysfunction, once hosting a YouTube show called Erection Correction.
His practice also focused on “male genital aesthetic surgery” including “girth/length enhancement”, according to an archived version of his personal website cited by CNN.
“He is a sought-after expert and routinely is asked by medical device companies to give his opinions and insights to help improve existing prosthetic implants and develop future devices,” the website said.
While apparently well-regarded in his field, he has faced scrutiny from the Left for his lack of experience in public health and his views on Covid vaccines, abortion and transgender care.
Dr Christine repeatedly promoted conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic, including that there was a concerted effort by the likes of billionaire financiers George Soros to use the pandemic to benefit multinational corporations.
“There is no question that the pandemic was used to influence the outcome of the 2020 elections,” Dr Christine said on an episode of his podcast in 2022.
He also claimed the Covid vaccine “ultimately was proved not to prevent the disease and not to prevent the spread of the disease.”
His role in the Trump administration also places him in charge of the health department’s office on women’s health, including policy on reproductive health.
Dr Christine previously said on his podcast that he didn’t support exceptions to abortion bans for rape or incest.
“Just because the pregnancy occurs through an act of violence, that doesn’t mean the unborn child doesn’t have the right to life,” he said, CNN reported.
“So there’s no exclusion for rape and incest. That’s the Alabama law. I think it makes sense.”
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Dr Christine had no prior experience in government after unsuccessfully running twice for local and state office.
He replaced Dr Rachel Levine, who, by comparison, had served as Pennsylvania’s top health official before she was picked by Joe Biden to serve as assistant health secretary.
Dr Levine was also the highest-ranking openly transgender government official.
Her successor has previously been critical of gender-affirming care for children experiencing gender dysphoria and, since taking office, he has reportedly blocked federal funding for treatment.
Instead, he has said that children should receive corrective care, such as intensive counselling, according to The Washington Post.
Despite this, his private practice reportedly advertised treatments for transgender people experiencing erectile dysfunction. Dr Christine told The Wall Street Journal in 2025 that he had “never treated those individuals”.
A department of health spokesperson told CNN that Dr Christine “remains focused on executing president Trump and secretary Kennedy’s agenda to Make America Health Again and deliver president Trump’s executive order to protect our children against chemical and surgical mutilation”.
2026-05-15T19:25:43Z
